YouTube for iOS gets support for Google’s Cardboard VR headset

Google is now adding virtual support to iOS devices months after bringing it to the Android version of the video-sharing site. An update for YouTube's iOS app notes that it now supports Cardboard. A small cardboard icon below all videos changes a regular clip into a 360-degree video using the Alphabet company's VR headset, according to The Verge.

Users of YouTube's iOS app can also watch VR videos using a flat screen such as a big screen TV.

Google Cardboard is one of the few platforms for experiencing mobile VR. Samsung's Gear VR developed with Facebook's Oculus works with Galaxy smartphones.

The original Cardboard launched about two years only ran on Android phones. However, the second version of the budget VR headsets rolled out last year supports iOS.

The Apple and Google platforms both support Cardboard apps including The New York Times' NYT VR. However, new features are usually first launched to Android devices.

Google's YouTube is practical for watching short videos on Cardboard. This week Google will also reportedly launch an Android VR platform at its Google I/O developer conference starting on May 18, Wednesday.

Android VR's competition would include high-end VR headsets HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Meanwhile, Gear VR is on the entry-level side. Google will reportedly unveil a standalone Android VR headset at the yearly dev conference. It would require no PC or smartphone.

Proof that Android VR is in the works includes a placeholder in the Google Play Developer Console, according to Android Police. It showed up last week beside Android TV and Android Wear.

Clicking on the placeholder did not produce any results. The icon works the same as Android Wear, which suggests it is just a placeholder.

A Google I/O schedule also includes several VR sessions. In addition, Engadget co-founder Peter Rojas tweeted that Android VR will be announced during this week but will be less powerful than the Rift and Vive VR devices.

There are still some big questions about the tentative introduction of an Android VR headset. They include the possibility of a new VR version of Android and support for Android N.